Author: healthadmin

Researchers at the RCSI School of Medicine and Health Sciences have developed an artificial model of the mitral valve that closely mimics the complex mechanical behavior of the mitral valve in the human heart. This study could help researchers better understand valve disease and develop new treatment approaches.The mitral valve opens and closes approximately 100,000 times each day, so its mechanical properties are important for healthy heart function. When the valves don’t work properly, blood can flow backwards from the heart in a condition called mitral regurgitation, which affects tens of millions of people around the world. As life expectancy…

Team efforts revealed Two important difficulties in dealing with nurdle spills. Nurdles are so small and light that they are easily carried over long distances by waves and ocean currents. And when they finally wash up on shore, they can burrow deep into the sand. In fact, the study revealed that the worst affected places were near Kovalam and Dhanushkodi. Researchers found staggering concentrations of nurdles on beaches far from the wreck site, ranging from 1,500 to 3,500 pellets per square meter of shore.A year later, nurdles are still being found along the coastline, and scientists say the true environmental…

As people age, cells become less efficient at producing energy and meeting changing demands. Scientists have long known that mitochondria, often referred to as the powerhouses of cells, play a central role in this decline. Now, researchers at the Leibniz Institute for Aging (FLI) in Jena, Germany, have identified a key contributor to this process: a membrane lipid known as phosphatidylcholine. Their findings show that low levels of phosphatidylcholine reduce mitochondrial flexibility and accelerate age-related deterioration. The researchers also found that providing phosphatidylcholine through the diet helped restore mitochondrial function in aging laboratory organisms. This result suggests that some aspects…

A new study in Canada’s Indigenous communities, using sharing circles as the primary method of qualitative data collection, shows that heart health is shaped by emotional, spiritual, social and systemic factors, and that trauma has a strong impact on how care is accessed and trusted. The research results are CJC Openpublished by Elsevier as the journal’s first arts-based report. This innovative format provides an authentic visual narrative that reflects the depth of our community’s experiences and perspectives.This study highlights the need for interventions beyond clinical management, including culturally-based nutrition programs, relationship-centered care pathways, and models that combine Indigenous and Western…

A Japanese research team has developed an efficient and minimally invasive cancer detection device that uses high-performance zinc oxide nanowires to selectively capture extracellular vesicles (EVs) from body fluids.The researchers used this device to successfully capture cancer-associated EVs from the serum of ovarian cancer patients. The surface membrane proteins and microRNAs of EVs remained intact, demonstrating the potential for sensitive disease analysis. These findings were published in the journal device.Liquid biopsy is a procedure that collects disease-related information from body fluids such as blood and urine. Unlike traditional tissue biopsy, it reduces the physical burden on the patient.EVs are nanoscale…

LAS VEGAS — If Ascendiun CEO Paul Markovich could remove one buzzword from the healthcare dictionary, it would be “interoperability.” why? That’s because the concept doesn’t represent the actual goals healthcare organizations should aim for, he said. He and his organization, the parent company of Blue Shield of California, are instead calling on the entire industry to embrace comprehensive digital health records for every patient. For example, if a hospital sends a long patient record to a physician, it will not in itself improve patient care and have a significant impact on the patient’s own health management. He said interoperability…

Three short films created through an Eli Lilly-sponsored initiative will debut at Tribeca Festival, advancing the pharmaceutical company’s efforts to improve on-screen representation of people with diseases. Last year, a Lilly-backed analysis of the top movies and TV shows of 2023 found that they rarely featured people with common illnesses. About 3% of the characters are obese, and about 40% of the U.S. population is obese, and it was often the subject of jokes. Cancer affects 0.16% of the population, and while actual treatments have improved, it remains a death sentence in media portrayals. To improve representation, Lilly collaborated with…

During lucid dreaming, a state in which one is aware that one is asleep, one can intentionally change one’s perceived physical form to experience life as an animal or another gender. Researchers recently investigated how deeply the mind can simulate these alternative identities by asking volunteers to transform into wolves or opposite-sex versions of themselves while dreaming. The experiment published in The International Journal of Dream Research suggests that the subconscious mind is highly adaptable and can create entirely new physical sensations and emotional states. Lucid dreaming occurs when a person is aware that they are dreaming but remains physically…

The number of Christians in the United States has stabilized after years of decline. But only a few of the people who line up for church on Sunday morning hear about the state of the earth, which the Bible requires stewards to do. A 2025 study found that nearly 90% of U.S. faith leaders across all major Christian denominations believe in at least some human-caused climate change, but only about half have discussed it with their congregations. Stiliano Silopoulos, one of the study’s researchers and an assistant professor in the School of Sustainability at Arizona State University, said there are…

A study of 2,044 older Japanese adults found that those with lower plasma levels of vitamin C tended to have less gray matter in their brains and less connectivity between a set of brain regions known as the default mode network. Haruka Nagaya of Hirosaki University and colleagues published these findings in an open access journal. Pro Swan June 10, 2026. Previous research has shown a link between a diet high in vitamin C and a lower risk of cognitive impairment in older adults. However, few studies have directly examined the potential association between plasma vitamin C levels and brain…